I feel they could have done so much more with a clearer focus. Despite the hype, not impressed.

I wish Minato and Yori appeared more, and would prefer a better ending.

--- Vague Spoilers --

Story: Director tries to put in a few themes, bullying, being different, societal conformity, japanese apologising/taking responsibility culture (even if not at fault), gay treatment therapy, felt a bit too many... Kind of drew the focus away from what (imo) should be the main theme, aka loving the same gender.

There is additional screen time given to the teacher and his lover to characterize him as a good teacher and set his character, but we don't see much of him in the Minato and Yori plot. Why do they have to combine the parent-teacher power dynamic and the Minato-Yori-classroom bullying plots into a single story? It feels like both deal with very significant issues that take a lot of emotions and shouldn't be so easily combined. I can see "What happens if they try to make their relationship official in their class, how do they cope and how do they overcome bulyling?" as one story, and "How does the teacher overcome this scapegoating done unto him, and how to deal with what is alleged vs what is actually true?" as another story with the teacher at the focus.

Ending: Giving an ambiguous ending is fine and all, but it left me feeling unfinished, would prefer an epilogue of Minato moving on or the aftermath, aka any change in classmates behaviour? teacher behaviour? Feels like they shown a spotlight on all the dark issues in the Japanese classroom and society and said "Ok, go think about it" and then left us with it.

Actors: Hinata acted so well as Yori the bumbling silly kid, a lighthearted facade with some dark thoughts, but I wished the characters could have been written with more emotional support -- like they're struggling but how do they come to terms with it. Minato's avoidance is only one part of the "gay panic", what about denial/ trying to like girls, what about acceptance, what about coming out?

--- Spoilers end --

I just feel they could have done so much more with it, and despite all the hype, not impressed. I think they could have done better with a clearer focus rather than so many themes, that only get brought up briefly but are never addressed (characters don't tackle or try to solve).

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Wish there were more like this...

The way the story unfolds, we learn more of this young boy and why he is living alone.

The neighours and characters all add to the warm environment that we can enjoy as we watch Kotaro grow.

It heals the soul.

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Story: The writing is superb, expected of a (manga?) that definitely has a plot backstory, yet the day-to-day feels slice-of-life. We learn why Kotaro has certain habits or does certain things, and we learn more about him with each episode.

Acting: Eita was 7 or 8 when he played as 5 year old Kotaro. I suppose they need to be older to have acting ability, and Eita's looks make the age difference unnnoticeable. As the main character, he needed to play the role of a kid emulating his favourite samurai in speech pattern and personality, and wisdom beyond his years from his experiences. I think he did that very well.

Music: Nothing noticeable, but in the more emotional moments, I find myself coming back to play it in the background.

Rewatch value: Slice of life has rewatch value. I like watching the characters interact and talk to each other.

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